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Hundreds of NYPD officers are being asked to help the state with antibody testing to help get a better idea of the spread of COVID-19 in the department, The Post has learned.
Officers are expected to do the pin-prick tests Monday as a way to get a “cross-section of what the NYPD is dealing with” when it comes to the coronavirus, one source said.
The testing — in part organized by the city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association — will include cops who had been sick, as well as those who had shown no symptoms of the pandemic bug, sources said.
The tests reveal the presence of immune system antibodies that indicate a subject contracted and beat the disease.
“We thank the Department of Health and Governor Cuomo for quickly rolling out the first phase of this antibody testing program,” PBA president Patrick Lynch said. “We look forward to continuing to work with them to build capacity so that every single New York City police officer can be tested. Testing police officers is a critical component of the reopening strategy, because our work touches every aspect of life in this city. We need to make sure we are not silently spreading the virus to our fellow police officers or the communities we serve.”
On Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city’s cops, firefighters and health care workers would be the first to get the antibody tests.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at his daily press conference Monday that 1,000 members from both the NYPD and FDNY would be tested this week.
“We are always very concerned about making sure we are getting testing to our essential and front-line workers,” Cuomo said in announcing the survey for the “infection rate.”
“We want to know exactly where those front-line workers are. If they have been infected, people are getting help and we know what happened.”
More than 4,800 members of the NYPD have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak as of Sunday.
